CD Reviews

Epic Power Metal... nothing can surpass this

Rob Skinner | Hastings, United Kingdom | 07/26/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"To all those critics of power metal i sincerely hope you die a horrible death. Sorry for that unsavoury attitude but i am just totally pissed at someone,a 'friend', who put me off power metal for a while until i regained my senses and came back to stand strong behind one of my favourite metal genres!

I'll quickly discuss my history with power metal. This album was actually the first power metal album i bought in my life. And i'll tell you straight off i loved every moment of it. Before listening to this i really never knew power metal i mean sure i'd heard of Stratovarius and Helloween but didn't really know them or their sound at all. I had very little concept of what power metal was. I was under the more British and American spell that heavy metal had to be as loud and aggressive as possible so i was mainly into metalcore-ish stuff, death metal and thrash, although i predominantly like thrash metal. To tell you the truth when i was listening to some of the stuff i was then, like Cannibal Corpse (who i slightly despise now) i didn't really like it that much, it was generic to me didn't stand out or nothing, unlike say Slayer or something. I wanted more melody, more clean singing but still maintaining that speed, heavy riffing and great solos. I basically wanted something that was new and progressive with refreshing tunes.

I bought this album and was amazed at the brilliant musicianship showcased by the guitarists notably Mr Luca Turilli, the vocals were beautiful thanks to Fabio Leone's soft touch and soaring abilities, the wonderful keyboard by Alex Strapoli, the drums were insanely fast bordering on blast beats in places due to Alex Holzwarth's precision skill and the orchestra, AN ORCHESTRA!! I NEVER KNEW THAT BANDS WERE COLLABORATING WITH ORCHESTRAS!! This was a great thing for me because one of my other loves is classical music of all sorts. Rhapsody are god damn amazing musically, structurally, lyrically and as people!! All the songs on this album are fantastic and build up to that hell of a finisher the title track epic of 13mins!!! This album helped me spawn quite a healthy power metal collection featuring bands like Primal Fear, Edguy, Sonata Arctica, Gamma Ray, Helloween, Strato and Nocturnal Rites oh and of course Rhapsody!My verdict on the album is that for a power metal fan or some one whole likes epic music this is a MUST HAVE!!SYMPHONY OF THE ENCHANTED LANDS!

Don't want to rant but i want to address the issue of people who criticise power metal. Power metal in my opinion is modern heavy metal that has progressed lightyears since the '80s. Power metal contains all the things about metal that metalheads love. Fast paced heavy riffing, brilliant wild solos, story or fantasy themed lyrics, double bass drumming, licks a plenty, dual guitars, talented singers with trademark voices and lots of energy! Please tell me what else heavy metal is about? It's not just about being loud, noisy and drunk, sure thats fun and there are plenty power metallers that advocate that eg Edguy lol. Power metal bands always and i mean ALWAYS cite the metal greats as their influences Priest, Maiden, Accept, Metallica, Queensryche, Fates Warning, Helloween etc and follow in their footsteps. I gurantee you every power metal band you listen to will make you think 'Boy that sounded like Maiden' or like with Primal Fear 'F*** this is Judas Priest man!!'.. Power metal has an uplifting spirit to it as well and a sense of being a metal community-- often inviting black metal singers,death metal singers and female vocalists to collaborate with them-- refer to Tobias Sammet's master piece the Metal Opera by Avantasia for a great example of this or Kamelot's the Black Halo. And so freakin what if they wear leather and clad and look like a bunch of sissy boys, metal kinda has a history of that if you look back on it Maiden, Priest, Manowar and KISS to name some-- for christ sake look at the back of Number of the Beast they don't look like fat muscle men do they?? My 'friend' as i spoke of earlier begged me to burn her a copy of my Rhapsody cd when i ranted and raved about it. Then when i did and met her again she's like it's really cheesy. Tell me wtf is cheesy about singing with a great voice about a story of Tolkien proportions using heavy metal and adding all these elements like orchestras, narration and SFX to enhance the experience?? NOTHING!! And here's the irony she listens to bands that 'aren't cheesy' like Greenday, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Pink!!??? What a load of crap man i hate to tell that bitch but 'love' and 'heartache' are the most cheesy and overused cliches in the music industry!!

My final word: POWER METAL IS GREAT!! RHAPSODY ROCK!! And buy this CD no regrets believe me!